Loudoun 01 Red takes Girls U-13 Virginia State Cup title, two other Loudoun teams reach finals
LEESBURG, VA (Via Loudoun Soccer) – Loudoun 01 Girls Red secured the Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA) State Cup title in the Under-13 Girls age group on Sunday with a gripping penalty shoot-out win against VBTS Beach FC Red. The game took place at the Virginia Soccer Training Center near Fredericksburg, Virginia and highlighted an exciting weekend for Loudoun Soccer.
Heading into the weekend of May 30-31, three Loudoun Soccer teams remained in the semi-finals of the VYSA State Cup including 01G Red, 00B Red, and 95B – the first Under-19 team in the clubs history to enter into the U19 bracket of the State Cup. The semi-finals were played on Saturday, May 31 and if teams progressed through, they would play in the Final on Sunday.
All three teams moved forward on Saturday and into the Finals on Sunday, with 01G Red winning against Virginia Rush, 00B Red winning in overtime over Beach FC, and 95B winning against SYA.
The following day was then announced as ‘Super Sunday’ by the club, with a chance to take home three State Cup titles on the same day. Both boys teams started off in the morning, with 00B Red matched up against FPYC and 95B facing Annandale. The 00B took an early lead, but would end up heading into overtime in their match after regulation ended at 1-1. Following an exciting but tough overtime, 00B Red would end their quest for the Cup as Finalists, falling 3-1 to FPYC.
The outcome would not change in the U-19 boys match either, as they also ended as Finalists with a 1-0 loss to Annandale after having a man sent off.
The highlight of the day would soon follow as the 01G Red team faced a tough Beach FC side, to whom they had lost earlier in the Club Champions League (CCL) season.
Although both teams applied high pressure throughout the entire 70-minute game, scoring opportunities went unrealized. Scoreless after regulation, it went into a 20-minute overtime but ended deadlocked again. The game then headed to penalty kicks to decide the champion.
The team as a whole showed confidence with their penalty kicks, going 5 for 5 from the spot. Goalkeeper Jordan Thompson proved to be a wall in goal for Loudoun, not only stopping shots during the match, but also saving the sixth penalty kick by the opposition. The next shot from Loudoun clinched the win, making Loudoun the winner 6-5.
Coach David DiMillio said after the game, “It was a very exciting weekend for the Loudoun 01 Girls Red team as they brought home their first State Championship after falling short last year in the semifinals.”
“As their new coach this year, one of our goals was to win a State Championship within three years – and we accomplished that goal this weekend! The team’s commitment, dedication and efforts for themselves, their teammates, coach, family and club were the reasons we were able to achieve this milestone.”
The team advances – along with 98 Boys Red (via Region I Champions League qualification) and 98 Girls Red (via State Cup Champion qualification) to the Region 1 Championship in Barboursville, West Virginia June 25–June 30.
Speaking on Tuesday, Technical Director Darryl Gee spoke highly of the entire weekend, “As a club, it is a huge accomplishment to have teams in any Final, but to have three teams vying for championships on the same day is incredible. I don’t think words can express how immensely proud we are of each team that has made it this far. We believe it is a good representation of the quality not only of our players, but our coaches as well. These teams have worked very hard to reach this point. We are so proud of their success and hope they are as well. We extend our sincere congratulations to each team on reaching the Finals as well as the 01 Girls on their Championship.”
